Environmental Health Systems - Information

Implementation Plan Projects Currently Underway

Part I
Creation of a nationally coordinated knowledge base for environmental health.

Part II
Environmental health information projects in Tasmania.

Issue: Environmental Health Information System - Part I

Need Addressed (as identified in National Environmental Health Strategy Implementation Plan):

Creation of a nationally coordinated knowledge base for environmental health.

Lead Agency: Commonwealth on behalf of enHealth Council

Project: To develop nationally accepted environmental health indicators.

An environmental health indicator provides information about a scientifically based linkage between the environment and health. An indicator, which purely describes the state of the environment or a pure health status indicator with no obvious link to environmental causations cannot be considered an environmental health indicator.

The purpose of developing indicators is to:

Help monitor moves toward sustainable development
Help monitor trends in the state of environment
Help monitor trends in health effects of environmental hazards
Compare geographic areas
Monitor the impact of policies and preventive actions
Help raise awareness of environmental health issues; and
Help investigate links between environmental and health

All levels of government particularly health and environment sectors, environmental health practitioners, town planners, policy developers and decision-makers will benefit from the development of these indicators.

Contact Details:

02 6289 8206

Issue: Information Projects in Tasmania - Part II

Need Addressed (as identified in the National Environmental Health Strategy Implementation Plan):

Creation of a nationally coordinated knowledge base for environmental health.

Jurisdiction: Tasmania

Projects:

Work with the Commonwealth to update notifiable diseases database.
Participation in Masters of Applied Epidemiology placement programs.
Development of a project to improve surveillance of food borne illness.

Contact Officers:

David Coleman (Scientific Officer, Communicable Disease Surveillance)
Mark Jacobs, (Director, Public and Environmental Health)

Contact Details:

Mark Jacobs phone:(03) 62 33 3768 mark.jacobs@dhhs.tas.gov.au

David Coleman phone:(03) 62 33 3203 david.coleman@dhhs.tas.gov.au

Related documents or action plans:

National Communicable Disease Framework